Bloomfield squeaks by No. 25 Dowling

BLOOMFIELD, N.J. -- Sophomore forward Lauren Deverin's layup in the final seconds lifted Bloomfield to a thrilling one-point victory Thursday evening, as the Lady Deacons improved to 5-7 overall with a dramatic 47-46 home victory against No. 25 Dowling.

No. 1 Arkansas Tech 76, Arkansas-Monticello 68

No. 5 Clayton State 58, UNC-Pembroke 40

No. 9 Ak.-Anchorage 59, Mont. St.- Billings 50

No. 11 Cal Poly Pomona 71, Cal St. East Bay 50

No. 18 Ashland 76, Findlay 52

No. T15 Grand Canyon 70, N.D. de Namur 46

No. 21 Michigan Tech 66, Northern Michgian 60

Bloomfield 47, No. 25 Dowling 46

The Lady Deacons were able to slow the pace of the action in the opening 20 minutes of play, limiting Dowling to just 21 percent shooting and 16 total points in the first half. Bloomfield was able to maintain a slim advantage throughout the frame, taking a 19-16 lead into the intermission.
The home team would hold the small cushion until midway through the second period, as the Lions finally broke through to overtake the Lady Deacons at 34-33 with 9:23 to play. Four lead changes would mark the remainder of the contest, the seesaw battle seeing neither team lead by more than six points the rest of the way.
Bloomfield would grab hold of a six-point advantage with 5:22 remaining, but Dowling countered with a 6-1 run of their own to move to within a single point at 43-42 with just two minutes to go. A layup by Vanessa Lamison moved the Lady Deacons' lead to three, but back-to-back buckets on consecutive possessions gave the Lions a 46-45 lead with 40 seconds remaining.
Enter Deverin, who finished a feed from Shaniqua Bacote to once again swing the contest in favor of Bloomfield with a layup to give the Lady Deacons a 47-46 lead with 19 seconds remaining. After a Dowling timeout, the Bloomfield defense once again answered the call and turned in one final stand, thwarting Dowling's hopes of a buzzer-beating win with a stop as time expired to hold on for the landmark upset victory.
Deverin finished with 10 points, a team-high 11 rebounds and three blocks on the evening, further solidifying herself as one of the top young post players in the CACC. Senior guard Shakiyrah Bishop netted a team-high 12 points in the win, while Lamison finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds to go with three steals. Senior point guard Emily Hall was also solid in the backcourt, totaling 11 points and four assists to help key the marquee triumph.
Connie Simmons led all scorers for Dowling, tallying a game-high 16 points in the loss. Sarah Schicher notched a double-double for the Lions, totaling 14 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.